Re: Sorting a hash of arrays based on a particular array element.

You need the Schwartzian Transform. If you do a search or super search on sorting you will find an abundance of nodes. You could also look up the the Orcish Manouver (a pun on or cache). There is also a great paper on sorting A Fresh Look at Efficient Perl Sorting

Update

As merlyn points out below you do not need Schwartzian/Orcish as your sort keys are already there. If you have a large amount of data to sort you may get some efficiency gain from the "Packed Default" method in the Guttman & Rosler paper A Fresh Look at Efficient Perl Sorting Here is an example of the Packed Default method ...

%hash=( 1 => [ 51, 'a2'], 2 => [42, 'a1'] );

print "$_ => @{$hash{$_}}" for 
    map substr($_,2), 
    sort map {pack("C2", $hash{$_}[0])."$_"} 
    keys %hash;
[download]

but for simplicity go for one of the solutions below.

Cheers,
R.

Pereant, qui ante nos nostra dixerunt!

Comment on Re: Sorting a hash of arrays based on a particular array element. Download Code

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Re^2: Sorting a hash of arrays based on a particular array element. by merlyn (Sage) on Jul 27, 2005 at 13:37 UTC
The ST or Orcish help when the sort keys are expensive to compute. These sort keys are already there! No computation to make. -- Randal L. Schwartz, Perl hacker Be sure to read my standard disclaimer if this is a reply.	[reply]
Re^2: Sorting a hash of arrays based on a particular array element. by salva (Canon) on Jul 27, 2005 at 13:39 UTC
not too long ago I released Sort::Key on CPAN, it outperforms the Schwartzian Transform and the methods described on the cited paper in almost any case and is easier to use.	[reply]